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NEWSLETTER -
INTERVIEW WITH AXEL OLESEN, CIFS, DK
Issue no. 8 ll-15 Sep 2006
The eighth
in a series of nine interviews with speakers at the kjaer global / CIFS International
Trends Conference 3rd October 2006 at Base Camp, Copenhagen.
This week
we interview Axel
Olesen on the theme Meaningful Consumption and Time to Think
 PROFILE – AXEL OLESEN, CIFS
Professional
strategist Axel Olesen advises companies and institutions on the best way
ahead. As Managing Director of the Copenhagen Institutes for Futures Studies,
his core fields of expertise are economy, human resources and strategy
research. A frequent contributor to the FO/futurorientation magazine, he is also
a regular speaker at international conferences as well as undertaking project
work. www.cifs.dk
“Companies
will have to make it possible for consumers to build their own meanings into products
and services.”
Questions
on: Meaningful
Consumption
Q: How would you define Meaningful Consumption?
Olesen: I would define it as something that goes
beyond self-satisfaction and looks to have some benefit to society and the
wider world.
Q: Why is Meaningful Consumption so much in focus at the
moment?
Olesen: In many parts of the world we have experienced
a long period of high economic growth. Yet although we have become richer and
richer we have not become happier and happier. Meaningful consumption is a
means of filling this gap between our wealth and our expectations.
Q: In what ways do you think consumption is driven by
consumer experience?
Olesen: Consumers tend to be less influenced than
before. Whereas we were very driven by product stories and branding, now our
interest has waned. Many of us don't know what choices to make - how to
consume. In Denmark at the moment every penny people
earn is being invested in the home environment. That tells us something.
Q: Why do you think
we have moved from product-focused consumption towards cultural consumption -
and what are the key social drivers behind this shift?
Olesen: We have become so wealthy, acquired so many
possessions. Perhaps we don't feel we need as much around us - and certainly
there is less pressure to 'keep up with the Joneses'. Because we can do what we
like - please ourselves - this has fostered this new form of hedonism.
Q: Who would you
single out as leaders (both people and companies) in Meaningful Consumption?
Olesen: Perhaps the self-educators. By that I mean the
growing contingent of the adult population who seek out privately-financed
education by studying for an MBA or other qualification. There has been
a global growth in this kind of personal development.
Q: What will the
future impact of Meaningful Consumption be for brands, services and products?
Olesen: The impact will be that companies can't rely
on existing brand or market knowledge – the same old stories won't work any
more. Companies will have to become facilitators, making it possible for
consumers to build their own meanings into products and services. Consumers
will influence how the objects they buy look and how they work for them. There
will be much more open source, offering personalisation and customisation
opportunities for customers.
Q: What lifestyle changes do you think will be the most
important in years to come?
Olesen: The single most important change will happen
when the Baby Boomers hit 60 or 70 years old. This generation will
continue to have money and good health. You may have consumers who are 75 or 80 years old going on holiday and
dating. In the past it was young people who were the pioneers of change. The
future will see the elderly as pioneers.
Q: What is the biggest challenge companies face in the
future?
Olesen: They have to learn how to develop a role as
facilitators, rather than drivers - a far more passive position. They have to
retreat and become less pushy with their brand messages and 'solutions'. They
need to act as consultants rather than solution providers. It is consumers who will
choose their own solutions.
Questions on: Time and Meaning…
Q: How has modern society changed your notions of time?
Olesen: Anything can be done at any time. This
is a huge change. Yet a lot of
people feel they have less time than before because they have so much more
choice. Time was more fixed because there were conventions about when to eat,
shop, work and so on. Without this framework we have greater freedom, but we
also have to make far more personal choices.
Q: What is your definition of 'quality time'?
Olesen: I don't have a fixed definition. Maybe
boredom, it's a rare sensation!
Q: Why do people today feel they have less time?
Olesen: With leisure there are round-the-clock
opportunities, endless possibilities for doing something to fill up each spare
moment. And although officially we work less hours than we did, in reality we
spend more time working - be it sitting in a traffic jam or being constantly
available via a mobile phone. Therefore our actual leisure time is
shorter.
Q: How do you feel the 24/7 culture has impacted on brands,
products and services?
Olesen: I'd say it has in some respects. A lot of
established companies are not 24/7, so we have a sort of parallel universe of
'office world' and 'outside world'. In other sectors there have been notable
successes - banks have managed to go some way to bridging the gap. The
retail sector is, however, lagging.
Q: Convergence technology is supposed to save us time. Is
this your perception?
Olesen: Yes in theory, but in practise I'd have to say
no. Supply creates its own demand, so if we have a mobile phone we simply talk
more!
Q: Has technology
improved our quality of life or made achieving work/leisure balance more
stressful?
Olesen: A bit of both. Of course it has
improved our overall quality of life. On the other hand it has also contributed substantially to the
challenges we face when we try to balance work and leisure.
Q: Can you give us a speed conclusion on Time and Meaningful
Consumption?
Olesen: More time and space to look beyond individual
need and find the bigger picture.
Key notes on CIFS
* CIFS
(Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies) was founded in 1970.
* It was
set up in co-operation with a number of visionary organisations who wanted to
qualify their rationale for making strategic decisions by using futures
studies.
* It is a not-for-profit research institution with some 15
researchers among its staff and affiliates.
www.cifs.dk
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